The Mysteries of Glass

by Sue Gee

It's the winter of 1860 when Richard Allen, a young curate, travels to a small hamlet outside Hereford to take up his first position. It's in this quiet place of wind and trees, birds and water that Richard is to fall passionately in love - but he cannot find fulfilment, for his lover is Susannah Beddoes, the wife of the vicar of his new parish. As Richard's feelings challenge him to his core, he develops a strange relationship with another woman, the solitary and eccentric Edith Clare. Against the backdrop of immense social and industrial change, the consequences of Richard and Susannah's affair are dramatic as they - as well as Oliver Beddoes - grapple with doubt and what it means to lose faith when the great certainties are in question. And throughout it all, the crossing-keeper's daughter Alice Birley - an observer of incidents and events she does not fully understand - has her own part to play...

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Religion, 19th Century, Historical

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2004

About the author

Sue Gee was born in India, where her father was an Army officer. She had a her elder brother, Robert, now a retired radiographer living in Spain. She grew up on a Devon farm, and in a village in Leicestershire, before instaled in Surrey in 1960. She lived in north London for 27 years with the journalist Marek Mayer, they had a son, Jamie. She married Mayer in November 2003, less of two years before his death on 23th July 2005. Now, she lived in the town of Hay-on-Wye in the Welsh borders.

Published since 1980, her novel Letters From Prague, was serialised on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and Her play, Ancient and Modern, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004, with Juliet Stevenson in the lead role. Her novel The Hours of the Night which received wide critical acclaim and was the controversial winner of the 1997 Romantic Novel of the Year Award, an award she won again in 2004 by her novel Thin Air.

She was Programme Leader for the MA Writing programme at Middlesex University from 2000 to 2008. She is currently reading for a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of East Anglia. She has been awarded a Royal Literary Fund Fellowship.

Reviews

[Vivienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a beautifully written story about a young curate and his forbidden love for the wife of his senior colleague. In it Susan Gee does not bow to modern sensibilities but examines what such a love would mean to these individuals and the environment in which they live. I read it in a single day as it was due to be discussed at a reading group meeting though I rather wish that I had given myself more time to appreciate its graceful pace.

Sue Gee evokes her rural setting and the passing of the seasons in the early 1860s with great skill. There are also musings about religion as Richard comes to address his faith. Of course the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of the Species the previous year is making its impact, though it is only one aspect of his questioning.

Another reviewer on Goodreads remarked on its feminist themes, which are certainly present though understated. At one point Susannah says to Richard: "sometimes I have thought I can hardly bear to be a woman.". When he protests she continues: "I am a woman - I must do nothing. Women must suffer, women must wait, women must follow, must be quiet and good, must never say what we feel". A powerful sentiment, which is reflected by the lack of power experienced by a number of women in the novel.

I found it a bitter sweet story though I am glad it was selected for the group as I would never have picked it up otherwise. However, I seemed to be alone in enjoying it as it wasn't to the taste of my fellow reading group members who complained about its slow pace. I offered my opinion that Susan Gee was seeking to evoke the atmosphere of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford, a novel that is mentioned favourably by Susannah in the narrative.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a young man from the lower middle classes who sets off to take up his first post as curate in a rural parish on the borderland between England and Wales. At first everything seems idyllic but he soon finds that beneath the tranquil surface lurks all sorts of unpleasantness. Sue Gee's acute physical description conjures up a powerful sense of place, and her ability to convincingly evoke an inner world allows her to explore the impact of science on faith in the second half of the nineteenth century. I found it compelling.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is about a young Curate taking up hs first position in a country church in Herefodshire. The vicar has a much younger wife but is terminally ill and the Curate and Susannah on meeting have immediate chemistry between them. The book is set in 1860 and is very well researched. The love story throws into play many moral issues and their relationship causes much heart-searching for two young people who have always followed the teachings of the church. Many people's lives are affected by their actions. I was sorry to get to the last page and would love a sequel!

[Mand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book astonishing. I loved her painterly, evocative language and in no way did I find it slow. I was seeped in the period of the time, the slow changing of the seasons, the wonderful descriptions. A reviewer wrote that Gee "is a magical writer" and I agree.

Without spoiling the story - I found the loss of faith of one of the characters a little hard to believe, but otherwise a perfect, beautiful and wrenching book. I was sorry when it ended

[Roberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this novel to anyone at least for its wondrous Nature descriptions. Beautiful , you can feel the seasons changing.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great writer! So glad this author was brought to my attention - definitely not a time waster.

[Catherine Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most haunting and beautiful novels I've ever read.

[Susannah Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the strongest book on feminist issues I have ever read - and I only realised when I was finished that it was a feminist book. So much of it describes the incredible beauty of nature, of the curate's love of nature and his place in it. This really slows the story down, but then, it's not a story to be rushed: boy loves girl, boy can't have girl. It's as simple as that. But of course, there are layers to this: every female character, in today's world, would not be forced to endure their narrow lives. I think we forget sometimes how much freedom women now have (in the society written about here) - not only do we have the freedom to think but to be.
Set in the 1860 Victorian countryside, we have only a few months here of the new curate's arrival in an ordinary village. From the harsh winter to a deliciously warm, bountiful spring, the drama unfolds to a climax that is expected (ruined rather by the blurb) but still has unexpected aspects.
This book is exquisitely written. The young curate's pain is drawn so finely that the book never feels slow. There is space for the reader to decide their own ending and naturally I came up with the happiest one imaginable because this is a character that deserves happiness. It's so seldom that one gets to read a book about someone who is utterly good but who doesn't know it.
Sue Gee writes beautifully - she makes every other psychological drama/romance seem crass and clumsy. It also makes me relieved to be living in this modern era.

[Crisscross]

(in addition to what Brian already says) the 'loss of faith' is not the tradional one accepting that modern science rules it out, instead a faith remains whose details are to be sought beyond the narrow confines of the Anglican faith of the period especially, maybe always.

The descriptions of the scenery and rural life of the Kington area are superb and help take one into looking at the story in the context of the period...to the extent that it is possible to do, though that begs the question of whether the modern mind indeed can.

having just read Conrad's "The rescue" one suspects that more correctly circumscribes the possibilities of true love at the time.

I can't think why Sue Gee is not more widely known and discussed.

[Linda Amos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice story, a bit 'old fashioned' in the way that love was always expressed and kept behind closed doors. A clergymen, Richard Allen, is sent to a rural parish in Herefordshire to become the curate. It is the middle of a very cold winter. He finds a small welcoming community, and a run-down church. He struggles with his faith as he falls in love with the vicar's young wife. The author's description of the natural world is wonderful, I could almost feel the cold of his arrival and see the birds swooping in the spring.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s the winter of 1860. Following the death of his father, the young Richard Allen takes his first position as curate in an isolated Herefordshire parish. At first Richard is eager to do well in his new post – but then he falls in love and finds that his faith is put to the test.

The Mysteries of Glass was nominated for an Orange Prize back in 2005 and I can see why, because Sue Gee’s writing is beautiful. I have rarely read a book with such a strong sense of time and place. The book is set in an isolated village in 19th century England and the rural Victorian setting felt entirely believable.

The opening chapters perfectly evoked a winter atmosphere. Although I was reading this book in July, I could still picture the cold, wintry landscape, the snowy fields, the frozen paths leading to Richard Allen’s lonely house, the skating party on the lake. Later in the book, as time passed, I could feel the temperatures rise and the seasons change.

Unfortunately, I had one or two problems with this book. I found it very, very slow – I had to force myself to read at a slower pace than I normally would because I felt I was starting to skim over the words without really absorbing them. After the first few chapters, in which very little actually seemed to happen, I had to make a decision whether or not to continue reading. I was glad that I persevered with it, though. I don’t like abandoning books and this one was so well written and had such a haunting, dreamlike atmosphere that I really wanted to love it.

The characters were realistic and well-drawn, from Alice Birley, the crossing-keeper's solemn little girl to Edith Clare, the mysterious woman who lives in the woods. However, I thought some of the characters who were potentially the most interesting were very underused, such as Richard’s strong, hot-tempered sister Verity.

Another problem I had was that the religious aspects of the book were a bit too much for me. Knowing that the story was about a curate, I was prepared for this to some extent but I wasn’t really expecting the church scenes to be quite so dominant. If you don’t like that type of thing, you should be aware that it forms a very large part of the book and that the central theme of the story is the portrayal of a man’s inner turmoil as he tries to reconcile his feelings and emotions with his faith and his belief in God.

If this book sounds as if it might interest you at all, then please do give it a try as I definitely seem to be in the minority! The Mysteries of Glass wasn’t a bad book by any means – it didn’t appeal to me but maybe it will appeal to you.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the opening lines to the last words, this book was nothing short of poetry written in prose. More than once, I would read a line so beautifully penned, that I had to go back and read it again. The premise of the story, if told in a single sentence, would seem like one that has been told many times before, “Young curate falls in love with the wife of the pastor he serves…” but no other story was written like this one. In Gee’s words, I not only felt deeply the agony of doubt and struggle that Richard and Susannah faced, but I walked the verdant paths they walked and could but smell the “freshness” of the ground where they strode together. I heard the birds’ song, the river’s gentle rush, the whispers of the breeze, and the bleating of the new Spring lambs. I encourage all to read this beautiful and lyrical story. You won’t be disappointed.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, about a young curate starting out in his first job in Herefordshire after leaving his widowed mother and sisters at home and living away for the first time.
The author writes so descriptively and it is easy to imagine the scene. The story was beautifully written and is a gentle read for the most part, reminding us of perhaps a simpler time when life moved at a less hectic pace. However there are dark cadences within the story and subjects are introduced which are still difficult to address and talk about in today's world.
In all, just a lovely book to 'read' with a story that is captivating; it reminded me of being a child and listening ardently to stories read out aloud to me.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is 1860 in Kington, a remote village in Herefordshire, when freshly ordained, energetic and deeply spiritual young curate Richard Allen, moves in.
Early references to Darwin prepare us for the agonies of faith and doubt at this time, and although nature’s seasons are steadfast, gloriously captured in all their variety and beauty, symbolically, the church building is collapsing. Conflicts soon begin to emerge; spiritual, moral, social and physical.
Richard gradually realises he is living in a disturbingly rigid and patriarchal world and the novel becomes an almost Dickensian exposure of mid-Victorian hypocrisy and inequality. The victims, of course, are the young, the poor and women, of every class.

[Naturegirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows the story of a young curate in a simple village. He falls in love with the current minister's wife. Minister dude is really ill. Curate and the wife have an affair. He's kicked out of the village and the story ends with him leaving.

I really enjoyed reading this book, but I hate the way the story turned out. I don't like books that have no ending or a lack of redemption. I love the way this author writes, but eh, I wouldn't recommend this one too highly.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a pile of tripe. Very predictable, and not very well written either.

[Heather Slutzkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have trouble analysing this book. It takes the reader to a world a million miles away and many generations. To a gentle English countryside village and a time when religion was a very present part of life for most people. It reminded me of the books of Elisabeth Goudge, a writer my grandmother was fond of. The strongest part of the book for me was the evocation of nature; the sense that one was walking amongst the plants and birds of a British pastoral landscape. It is certainly not plot driven. Apart from a few surprises towards the end, we are introduced to the love story which is the central premise very near to the start of the book. But along with the curate we become aware of the darkness that can exist below the beautiful surface, supported by the religion and behavioural codes of the times. It is a book that seems to infiltrate the senses and emotions and stays with me after finishing.

[Nienke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars due to beauty of the prose, however the story and the characters did not blow me away.

The love story developed extremely slow, too slow for me, especially the first 100 pages have too much nature and church / religion descriptions.

I liked the feminist descriptions at the end and the character of Richards sister, Verity. I would have loved to see a conversation between Verity - fighting for her right to study and work like men - and Susanna Bowen - fighting for her right to love who she wanted. That might have added more depth to that aspect of the novel.

Richards development came quite late, all the way at the end he fought for what he really wanted out of love, also here I would have preferred a more active stance earlier on instead of all things happening to him.

Compared to “The hours of the night”, which left an intense impression on me for the acute and painful way the loss of love was described, this was significantly less impressive.

[Jonathan Cooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing much happened

I never thought I'd say this about a book but there was too much description and it got in the way of the story. About half way through I began skipping pages as nothing was happening other than mundane everyday activities which were monotonous in their repetition.
On the plus side I loved the scene where the protagonist loses his virginity as you could feel his pent up tension and empathise with how long it had taken to get there, literally😄
Would I recommend this book? I think there are merits to this book in terms of setting, it was described effortlessly and felt very real. The down side is that very little happens and certainly not enough to justify all those pages.

Not for the impatient reader.

[Janice Mallison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this beautiful tale set in Herefordshire on the border with Wales. Nature and the countryside are as much a character in the story as the lonely young curate and the community around him. You feel early on that much might have been avoided if the rector, Oliver Bowen, had been a different, more fatherly and sympathetic man. Or if any of the church elders had taken more of an interest in Richard. It reminds me of a saying from the Dali Lama. If I approach others with a view to promoting their peace of mind, I no longer see them as strangers but as old friends. If there was ever a soul in need of a kindly friend to help him in his crisis, it was this man.

[Issy Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written, deeply moving story of love and personal growth. Beneath touching descriptions of nature’s beauty and intimate human interaction, Gee reminds us how close beneath the surface lie secrecy and hypocrisy.
We are presented with the struggle between duty and desire, between blind faith and the courage to seek one’s own answers.
It’s a courageous exploration of how each of us knows God differently - and how one may feel holiness in a moment or action that another would utterly condemn.

[Adrian Toronto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slow moving, meditative book. Much reflection on the natural world slowly changing seasons which echos the slowly changing morals and expectations of the main character. For a non-religious reader, the Christian elements can run a bit long, but they do serve a deeper purpose. If I knew the rough plot line, I would not have read the book because I would have found the premise boring, but the book is suspenseful, as it is unclear how the central tension can be resolved.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written and very descriptive of the countryside surroundings especially. The story centers on a young curate at his first country parish and how he falls deeply in love with the young wife of the resident incumbent.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vivid scene-setting and breathtakingly beautiful prose make up for thin characters and an awful lot of navel-gazing.

[Kathy Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. Atmospheric, wonderful writing.

[Sharon Albanese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my favourites, mainly because it is so slow moving. Give it a go if you feel like an old fashioned unfulfilled love story.

[Julie B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It just didn’t grab me, as you can see by how long it’s taken me to finish.

[celia Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous book full of beautiful descriptions of the countryside and a mesmerising plot of love and deceit

[Staci]

http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/200...

[Sara]

05 long list-orange prize